The Rise of the Third Reich

A week after the German troops entered the Rhineland, Ludwig von Heinsberg-Hersmann returned to Berlin from his headquarters in Cologne - the hero of the reconquest of the Rhineland.

"Hooray, Germany! Hooray, the Wehrmacht!"

The sound of cheers echoed through Berlin's Friedrichstraße train station square. This square, which in 1918 was often used as a gathering place for anti-war people, has now become a sea of ​​military uniforms and cheers.

"Ludwig, did you see that? Our soldiers still retain their military uniforms! They are always ready to put them on again and fight for the rise of Germany!"

Vice President Ludendorff, who personally went to the train station to greet the "triumphal" soldiers, held Hersmann's hand tightly and said in a proud tone.

Hersman looked at the sea of ​​military uniforms in the square. Most of them are not active duty or reserve soldiers of the Wehrmacht. They are veterans who participated in the last world war, as well as the sons of veterans who wear the military uniforms left by their fathers.

Of course, there were also some People's Stormtroopers in brown uniforms among them. The People's Stormtroopers were not disbanded, but were completely reorganized and became a militia organization under the control of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Defense Forces.

"Your Excellency General, the German people are now truly united, and the whole of Europe will tremble in front of them!" Hessmann said loudly, then stood at attention and gave Ludendorff a military salute, "Deputy General Staff Officer Lieutenant General Hersmann reports to you: The Rhineland area is completely controlled by the Wehrmacht!"

Ludendorff was the vice president. As Hindenburg's Alzheimer's disease became more and more serious, he spent most of his time recuperating at his manor in Hanover. The presidential power was assumed by Ludendorff. Although Ludendorff himself was not a member of any political party, everyone in Europe knew him as a "political general."

The Fatherland People's Party and the Nazi Party, which are co-ruling in Germany, both have very close relations with him. The People's Party of the Fatherland was formed on the basis of the Fatherland Party before the November Revolution and had many generals and members. The backbone of the Nazi Party were junior officers and veterans who were unwilling to lose the world war. Its establishment and development were inseparable from Ludendorff's support.

Therefore, many foreign political observers now mistakenly regard Ludendorff as the real plenipotentiary figure in Germany - they regard him as the same as Piłsudski, Goltz, Horthy Miklós, Kemal Similar characters. Within Germany, many people hold similar views.

Adolf Hitler is regarded as the German enhanced version of Salazar, the "savior" of the Portuguese economy (the historical Portuguese professor dictator who was appointed as the Minister of Finance by the military dictatorship and is currently the Prime Minister of Portugal). With good financial management and good governance, he miraculously saved Germany from the quagmire of the Great Depression in just over a year after taking office. But no one would regard Hitler as the dictator of Germany, and in fact he was not.

After reporting to Ludendorff on the reconquest of the Rhineland, Hessmann walked up to Adolf Hitler, performed the same military salute, and then made an almost identical report - the German Wehrmacht was now under the dual leadership of the president and chancellor. , the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the Ministry of National Defense under the prime minister is in charge of military affairs.

"Well done!" Hitler was also extremely excited. He held Hessmann's hand and laughed heartily. He said in a high-pitched tone, "The French and British have really lost their courage. They could have easily stopped it." our."

If both Britain and France fulfilled their obligations under the Locarno Convention, carried out military mobilization and marched towards the Rhineland, Germany would have no choice but to retreat. However, if France’s white leftist politicians do this one time, they will completely ruin their political future - anyone who has played electoral politics knows that the fundamentals of a political party cannot be lost. Playing politics.

The basic base of the French white left is the French who do not want to die in war. Therefore, as long as the white left in France is in charge, it will not dare to start a war easily. Even if Germany forces him to have no choice but to bite the bullet, he will only fight a sit-down war.

As for the old French soldiers who were afraid of death and did not want to fight, they left the safety of the Maginot Line and went to the Germans' "impregnable" Siegfried Line to die... That kind of thing violated the "political correctness" of France at the time and could only exist. In a dream.

"Yes, they have lost their courage," Hessman said with a smile. "Maintaining peace has become the biggest public opinion in Britain and France, which is very beneficial to our development."

Hessmann then walked towards the loudspeaker placed on the steps outside the train station building. Seeing this, the crowd in the square gradually became quiet. They were waiting for the new star of the German army, Lieutenant General Hersmann, who was only 40 years old, to give a speech. Ludendorff and Schleicher arranged for Hessmann to regain the Rhineland, and the purpose of making him shine was to make him Packaged as a Ludendorff-esque hero...

Hessmann did not start speaking immediately, but remained silent for a while. He was imitating Hitler's speaking skills.

"I have great news to report to you. In the past week, the army of the German Empire has shattered a chain imposed on our German nation by the evil Treaty of Versailles. The Rhineland region, which has belonged to the German nation since ancient times, is now in Under the protection of the German Wehrmacht!

After being knocked down by a bullet fired from behind in November 1918, our nation finally embarked on the road of relying on iron and blood to build the glory of Germany...

The Treaty of Versailles is a great shame for us! We have the determination and strength to refuse to implement it! Recovering the Rhineland is just the beginning, we will tear it apart completely! Germany will become strong and invincible again! This is the common ideal of 70 million outstanding German sons and daughters, and it is also the common responsibility given to our generation by history. The soldiers of the German Wehrmacht have made up their minds and are ready to shed our last drop of blood for this ideal. Sons and daughters of the German nation, are you ready..." "Long live Germany! Long live the Wehrmacht!" Hersman's gunpowder-filled speech ended, and the cheers became louder at this time. Now the public opinion in Germany is exactly the opposite of that in Britain and France-after experiencing the humiliation and oppression in the 1920s, most Germans miss the powerful empire of the past. So the political correctness of Germany is the "dream of a strong country"! It is to establish a Third Reich that can bring glory to Germany. "You said it very well! "Hitler said this, and got into the same open-top Mercedes W07 with Hersmann and Ludendorff, and then drove to Wilhelm Street amid the cheers of the Berlin people.

"Britain and France don't have generals like you!" Hitler waved at the crowd on the roadside and said compliments.

"No, they also have excellent generals and fearless politicians." Hersmann replied with a smile, "but they don't have 70 million people willing to sacrifice themselves for the revival of the country. This is our biggest advantage!"

"Yes! 70 million... no, it should be more than 80 million German people who are our biggest advantage!"

Adolf Hitler nodded heavily, and his tone had become a little solemn: "Recovering the Rhineland is just the beginning... I want to unite all Germans in Europe! A united Germany will be invincible! "

This means that Germany will take back the Saar region, merge with the Baltic Republic and the Republic of Austria, take back the Free City of Danze, Alsace and Lorraine, the Czech Sudetenland, and some other scattered territories.

Except for the Saar region (according to the Treaty of Versailles, the Saar region can be decided by a referendum in 1934), all other regions that need to be annexed or recovered have no "law" or "treaty" as a basis.

In other words, the unification of Germany is not in compliance with international law!

...

"He openly declared that he would smash the Treaty of Versailles. He is really an old friend of the Soviet people! "

Soviet Foreign Minister Litvinov was probably the first foreign politician to get the full text of "Hersmann's Train Station Speech".

He got the news on the ship to France. In the eyes of this fat but elegant and aristocratic Jew, Hersmann's public declaration in his speech to "smash the Treaty of Versailles" undoubtedly helped the Soviet Union a lot.

"He has to say that," Litvinov went to Paris with Mrs. Kollontai, who seemed to have gained Stalin's trust because of Hersmann's rise. "His supporters and backstage bosses hate the Treaty of Versailles, and he is their tool to destroy the Treaty of Versailles."

Kollontai is now the Soviet Union's "German expert" and of course the "Hersmann expert". Her views on Hersmann are basically in line with reality. Behind Hersmann is a group of people who want to tear up the Treaty of Versailles and make Germany strong again. And Hersmann has been doing this since before the end of the last World War. And he was very successful!

"So he got a reward! "Litvinov smiled and handed a copy of the telegram to Mrs. Kollontai, "He has just been promoted to general... a 40-year-old general! It seems that it is only a matter of time before he becomes the chief of the general staff or even the president of Germany." "Chief of the general staff for sure," Kollontai nodded, then thought for a while, "but not necessarily the president." "If not him, who will take over Ludendorff's job?" Litvinov asked, "Ludendorff is also very old." Kollontai said: "He may take over Ludendorff's job. If Germany still has a president in 1938, it will be either him or Schleicher... and the president after Schleicher will most likely be him."